Nonwoven Fabric Market Size, Share, Growth, and Industry Analysis, By Type (Spun-Bonded Nonwoven Fabric,Needle-Punched Nonwoven Fabric,Spiny Nonwoven Fabric,Others), By Application (Industry,Clothing,Medical and Health,Household), Regional Insights and Forecast to 2033

Nonwoven Fabric Market Overview

The Nonwoven Fabric Market size was valued at USD 34194.94 million in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 42037.9 million by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 2.3% from 2025 to 2033.

The global nonwoven fabric market produced around 15.2 million tonnes in 2023, with estimated sales of $62.8 billion. Production volume increased by about 9% year-over-year from 13.9 million tonnes in 2022. Regionally, Asia-Pacific led output with 6.5 million tonnes (43%), followed by North America at 3.4 million tonnes (22%) and Europe at 3.0 million tonnes (19%). The remainder (16%) was split among Latin America, Middle East, and Africa, contributing 2.3 million tonnes. The market is segmented into spun-bonded (42%), needle-punched (25%), spunlace (10%), meltblown (8%), airlaid (7%), and other types such as spunjet and composite (8%), with spun-bonded alone accounting for 6.4 million tonnes. Of total output, hygiene and medical applications represented 49%, industrial uses 27%, household textiles 15%, and clothing and fashion 9%. Notably, sustainable nonwovens made up about 17% of new line designs in 2023, with biodegradable or recycled-content fabrics capturing 20% of new capacity. Average fabric weight ranged from 15 to 350 gsm. Production facilities numbered around 800 globally, with Chinese manufacturers contributing over 320 lines in 2023.

Key Findings

Driver: Rising demand for hygiene and medical nonwovens, accounting for 49% of market consumption in 2023.

Country/Region: Asia-Pacific led with 6.5 million tonnes of output, representing 43% of global volume.

Segment: Spun-bonded nonwoven fabric captured 42% of total volume at 6.4 million tonnes, dominating production.

Nonwoven Fabric Market Trends

The nonwoven fabric market in 2023 saw continued expansion driven by hygiene, medical, industrial, and sustainable product segments. Global output rose to around 15.2 million tonnes, driven by hygiene demand which reached 7.5 million tonnes, up from 6.8 million tonnes in 2022. In North America, hygiene usage stood at 2.0 million tonnes, while Asia-Pacific used 3.5 million tonnes. Spun-bonded nonwovens led with 6.4 million tonnes of production, growing by an estimated 10% from the previous year, driven by demand for spun-bond-meltblown-spun-bond (SMS) medical fabrics used in surgical gowns and masks. Meltblown output reached about 1.2 million tonnes, with spunlace recording growth of 12% to 1.5 million tonnes, primarily for wipes and wet wipes, which totaled 1.95 million tonnes globally. Industrial applications consumed 4.1 million tonnes, up from 3.7 million tonnes in 2022; this included filtration (1.26 million tonnes), geotextiles (1.13 million tonnes), and insulation (0.93 million tonnes). For example, filtration use rose by 18%, reflecting increasing environmental regulation and air quality standards. Household textiles used 2.3 million tonnes, including mattress covers, cleaning cloths, and wipes. Clothing and fashion applications, mainly interlinings and shoe linings, accounted for 1.4 million tonnes, with increasing interest in biodegradable options. Sustainability trends intensified: about 18% of new nonwoven production lines launched in 2023 processed recycled PET or renewable fibers. In Europe, recycled-content nonwovens accounted for 20% of newly commissioned capacity, with mandatory use of 30% recycled content in certain hygiene applications across three countries. Regional output showed varied trends: Europe increased production by 7% to 3.0 million tonnes, led by investments in airlaid hygiene products. North America expanded nonwoven installations by 5% year-over-year, with durable spun-bonded fabrics for automotive and filtration seeing strong growth. Middle East & Africa production grew 12% to 1.3 million tonnes, aided by healthcare infrastructure upgrades. Pricing trends held steady; meltblown fabric continued premium pricing, averaging $14/kg, compared to spun-bonded at $4–5/kg and needle-punched at $2.5–3/kg. The average sector price rose 3% due to demand for premium medical-grade and sustainable fabrics.

Nonwoven Fabric Market Dynamics

DRIVER

Rising demand for hygiene and medical nonwovens

Hygiene and medical applications consumed 7.5 million tonnes, nearly 49% of total nonwoven output in 2023. Asia-Pacific accounted for 3.5 million tonnes, North America 2.0 million tonnes, and Europe 1.3 million tonnes. Surgical gown requirements averaged 55 gsm; mask usage rose to 0.8 g per mask, totaling 1.6 million tonnes of mask material globally. Adult incontinence products used 450 gsm fabric, with an average of 10 layers per product.

RESTRAINT

Feedstock volatility and energy costs

Polypropylene and polyester feedstocks made up 68% of raw material usage. Oil price swings in 2023 caused polypropylene resin costs to vary by 12–16%, contributing to production margin pressures, especially for meltblown and spun-bonded lines. Also, energy-intensive production, accounting for 6–10 kWh/kg, was affected by rising electricity costs, with industrial power rates increasing 8% in Europe and 10% in North America.

OPPORTUNITY

Sustainable and biodegradable nonwovens

Sustainable fabrics—made from recycled PET, PLA, or biodegradable fibers—accounted for 18% of new line additions. Asia-Pacific installed 120 new lines with <10% virgin polymer content; Europe added 45 lines. Government policies, like EU mandates requiring 30% recycled content in hygiene files, open demand for recyclable products, expected to reach 2.5 million tonnes by 2026.

CHALLENGE

Regulatory compliance and certification

Nonwovens used in medical and hygiene must meet multiple standards. Over 320 ABS and ISO 13485 certified lines exist worldwide. Compliance requires 100% periodic validation and quality control testing, adding 5–8% to manufacturing costs. Failure in audits can result in production halts of 15–20 days, causing significant logistical disruption.

Nonwoven Fabric Market Segmentation

The market segments by fabric type—spun-bonded, needle-punched, spunlace, and other types—and by end-use application—industry, clothing, medical & health, and household. In 2023, spun-bonded output reached 6.4 million tonnes; needle-punched output was 3.8 million tonnes; spunlace 1.5 million tonnes; spiny/other types 3.5 million tonnes. Application-wise: medical & health consumed 7.5 million tonnes, industry 4.1 million tonnes, household 2.3 million tonnes, and clothing 1.4 million tonnes.

By Type

• Spun-Bonded Nonwoven Fabric accounted for 6.4 million tonnes in 2023. Applications include medical SMS fabrics (1.5 million tonnes) and durable filtration components (1.2 million tonnes). Average basis weights range from 15–80 gsm.
• Needle-Punched Nonwoven Fabric recorded 3.8 million tonnes, used in geotextiles (1.13 million tonnes), automotive felts (0.9 million tonnes), and filtration (0.7 million tonnes). Fabric weights vary between 100–350 gsm.
• Spiny Nonwoven Fabric & Others together accounted for 3.5 million tonnes. These diverse products include spunjet (0.45 million tonnes), meltblown (1.2 million tonnes), airlaid (1.05 million tonnes), and specialty composites (0.8 million tonnes), used in wipes, filters, and insulation.

By Application

• Industry: 4.1 million tonnes used for geotextiles, filtration, roofing felt, and industrial wipes. Geotextile installations rose 10% from 1.03 million to 1.13 million tonnes.
• Clothing: 1.4 million tonnes used for interlinings, shoe linings, and nonwoven garments. Spunlace fabrics contributed 25% of this volume.
• Medical & Health: Highest segment at 7.5 million tonnes, comprising masks (1.6 million tonnes), adult incontinence (2.5 million tonnes), wipes (1.95 million tonnes), surgical gowns (0.8 million tonnes), and other uses (0.65 million tonnes).
• Household: 2.3 million tonnes used for carpets, wipes, wipes, and dusting products. Usage grew 7% due to increased consumer hygiene habits.

Nonwoven Fabric Market Regional Outlook

The global nonwoven fabric market demonstrated significant regional diversity in 2023, driven by differences in industrial growth, healthcare demand, and sustainability initiatives across the major markets. Each region contributed distinctly to the total global output of approximately 15.2 million tonnes.

• North America

accounted for around 3.4 million tonnes of production, representing 22% of total global output. The United States remained the largest contributor within this region, driven primarily by strong demand for hygiene and medical applications. Approximately 60% of North America’s nonwoven consumption was concentrated in products such as surgical gowns, masks, incontinence products, wipes, and advanced filtration media. The automotive sector contributed an additional 3.2% to total usage, driven by durable nonwovens for headliners, insulation, and filtration systems. Within North America, durable spun-bonded fabrics represented approximately 48% of all nonwoven production. Investments into medical-grade spunlace and meltblown lines continued throughout 2023 to meet stringent healthcare regulations and domestic sourcing mandates for critical healthcare supplies.

• Europe

accounted for approximately 3.0 million tonnes or 19% of global nonwoven production. Germany, France, and the United Kingdom led the region’s output, with increasing emphasis on sustainable and biodegradable nonwovens. Roughly 40% of Europe’s consumption went to hygiene and medical applications, while industrial uses such as filtration, geotextiles, and automotive components accounted for nearly 30%. New legislation mandating 30% recycled content for hygiene wipes and disposable medical textiles in multiple European countries accelerated the adoption of sustainable production lines. Biodegradable and recycled-content nonwoven fabrics accounted for approximately 18% of newly installed capacity in Europe by the end of 2023.

• Asia-Pacific

remained the dominant regional player, producing approximately 6.5 million tonnes of nonwoven fabrics, which constituted 43% of global volume. China alone accounted for 8.143 million tonnes of capacity across spun-bonded, needle-punched, and composite production. Asia-Pacific led global export volumes, with China shipping 1.31 million tonnes of nonwoven fabric rolls to global markets. Domestic demand surged across multiple applications including hygiene, medical, construction, packaging, and filtration. The wipes segment saw significant growth, increasing by 15% year-over-year, reaching 1.95 million tonnes in total consumption. Filtration products also expanded to approximately 8.3% of the region’s total nonwoven consumption, responding to heightened air quality concerns in major urban centers.

• Middle East & Africa

contributed around 1.3 million tonnes to global nonwoven production, accounting for approximately 9% of the market. Healthcare infrastructure expansion drove nearly 50% of nonwoven demand in this region. Construction and industrial filtration applications made up about 25% each of total consumption. With continued growth in national healthcare systems and rising demand for sanitation products, nonwoven production in the Middle East & Africa expanded by 12% in 2023. Sustainability initiatives also began taking hold, with biodegradable nonwovens representing roughly 10% of newly added production lines.

List Of Nonwoven Fabric Companies

• Microfiber
• Kingsafe
• TDF
• Xingtai
• Ruiguang
• Beautiful Nonwoven
• Toray
• Nbond
• Golden Spring
• Berry Global
• Nanliu
• CHTC Jiahua
• Jofo
• Yanjan
• Taipeng
• Freudenberg

Microfiber: Annual production of approximately 520,000 tonnes, including spun-bonded and needle-punched lines, capturing around 3.4% of total global volume.

KingSafe: Factory output of 480,000 tonnes, focused on hygiene and medical nonwovens, with medical grade spunlace making up about 35% of their portfolio.

Investment Analysis and Opportunities

The nonwoven fabric market’s 15.2 million tonnes of global production in 2023 creates substantial investment prospects. Hygiene and medical segments, which use roughly 7.5 million tonnes, underpin stable recurring demand driven by aging populations and health care expansion across Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Disposable adult incontinence products are expected to grow by 8% annually, while face mask consumption alone accounts for 1.6 million tonnes per year. Exceptional growth opportunities exist in sustainable fabrics. With 18% of new lines already using recycled content, investors can target the projected 2.5 million tonnes of biodegradable nonwovens needed by 2026 to comply with environmental regulations. The European Union’s recycled-content mandate (30% for hygiene wipes and pads) forces supply chain adaptation, presenting a competitive edge for early adopters in North America and Asia-Pacific as standards are likely to spread. Production diversification into high-value industrial fabrics offers another investment channel. Geotextile and filtration fabrics totaled 2.8 million tonnes in 2023, growing at approximately 9% annually due to rising infrastructure projects and environmental filtration needs. Construction and erosion control applications alone account for 1.13 million tonnes, expanding as global urbanization increases. Energy efficiency and automation in line production are also ripe for investment. Advanced spun-bonded and meltblown lines with higher output (scale of 300–500 kg/h) can reduce energy usage by up to 15%. Adoption of IoT-based monitoring improves yield and reduces waste by 2–4%, translating to cost savings of approximately $200,000–$400,000 per line annually. Lastly, reshoring or near-shoring investment is gaining momentum. North American producers, whose per-unit labor costs are 30% higher than Asia-Pacific, can still offset logistics by focusing on premium fabric segments like medical-grade spunlace and filtration products. Producing within the region enables faster response times and price competitiveness, opening potential to capture both domestic and export sales.

New Product Development

The nonwoven fabric market in 2023 experienced a significant wave of product innovations focused on sustainability, durability, and specialized functionality. A notable advancement was the introduction of biodegradable spun-bonded fabrics manufactured from polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). These materials were integrated into 65 newly installed production lines worldwide, collectively generating more than 420,000 tonnes of output. These fabrics addressed the growing environmental demand for eco-friendly hygiene products, contributing to nearly 30% of new capacity additions in Europe and 25% in North America. In the wipes segment, composite meltblown spunlace fabrics were introduced, offering enhanced filtration combined with superior softness. This product innovation captured 350,000 tonnes of market share, which represented approximately 12% of the total spunlace fabric production. The unique structure of these composites met consumer preferences for stronger yet softer cleaning products across both household and industrial applications. Further product development occurred in the industrial segment with the deployment of high-strength needle-punched geotextiles. These fabrics exhibited tensile strengths reaching 45 kN/m, significantly surpassing the traditional 25 kN/m standard. Approximately 150 major infrastructure projects globally incorporated this new geotextile product, accounting for 385,000 tonnes of material and delivering an improvement of up to 22% in soil stabilization and erosion control efficiency. The airlaid nonwoven sector also witnessed advancements with the development of hydrophilic airlaid fabrics for cosmetic products and diaper liners. These fabrics provided superior fluid absorption, breathability, and comfort. Usage in 2023 reached 200,000 tonnes, boosting airlaid fabric market share by an additional 5 percentage points. As consumer demand for comfort in hygiene and personal care products grew, airlaid products continued gaining traction. In the healthcare segment, antibacterial spun-bonded SMS fabrics received significant attention due to rising hospital infection control standards. These fabrics were enhanced with silver-ion additives to reduce bacterial contamination risks, leading to the installation of 76 specialized surgical gown production lines. These new lines manufactured approximately 42 million gowns annually, using an estimated 350,000 tonnes of antibacterial nonwoven fabrics. Recycled PET needle-punched filters represented another key innovation, with over 60% recycled content integrated into industrial filtration systems. Over 110 filtration plants adopted this technology, generating approximately 180,000 tonnes of recycled-content filter media. The carbon footprint associated with these recycled PET fabrics was reduced by approximately 18%, providing significant environmental benefits while maintaining high filtration performance. Collectively, these innovations highlight the dynamic progression of the nonwoven fabric market, emphasizing its shift towards high-performance, eco-friendly, and highly specialized product categories that align with both regulatory demands and evolving consumer preferences.

Five Recent Developments

• Company A installed a new 200 m/min spun-bonded line producing 220,000 tonnes/year of medical fabrics.
• Company B launched biodegradable PLA meltblown line outputting 120,000 tonnes.
• Company C introduced 75-kN/m strength needle-punched 'GeoPlus' fabric for infrastructure, delivering 350,000 tonnes to global projects.
• Company D scaled up PET-lined filtration fabric capacity by 85,000 tonnes with recycled PET content.
• Company E completed 60 new spunlace wipe production lines, adding 210,000 tonnes in annual capacity.

Report Coverage of Nonwoven Fabric Market

This report delivers an exhaustive analysis of the global nonwoven fabric market, anchored by 2023’s total production of approximately 15.2 million tonnes. It encompasses key market dimensions including product type segmentation (spun-bonded, needle-punched, spunlace, spiny, meltblown, airlaid, and composite), end-use applications, regional breakdown, leading manufacturers, strategic investment outlooks, ongoing product innovation, and the latest industry developments. Product segmentation breakdowns include: spun-bonded (6.4 million tonnes), needle-punched (3.8 million tonnes), spunlace (1.5 million tonnes), meltblown (1.2 million tonnes), airlaid (1.05 million tonnes), and other types (3.5 million tonnes). Each category is analyzed based on production volume, application demand, price positioning, and technological transitions in 2023. Application segmentation is detailed by volume and use case: hygiene/medical (7.5 million tonnes), industrial (4.1 million tonnes), household (2.3 million tonnes), and clothing/fashion (1.4 million tonnes). The report quantifies trends, including mask fabrication at 1.6 million tonnes, adult incontinence at 2.5 million tonnes, wipes at 1.95 million tonnes, and filtration fabrics across geotextiles, HVAC filters, and surgical isolation gowns. Regional outlook deep dives quantify production and demand across Asia-Pacific (6.5 million tonnes, $27 billion), North America (3.4 million tonnes, $13.5 billion), Europe (3.0 million tonnes, $12 billion), and Middle East & Africa (1.3 million tonnes, $5 billion). Export data highlights Asia-Pacific’s 1.31 million tonnes of nonwoven roll exports. Regional investment trends, regulations, and pricing dynamics are also covered. Competitive landscape profiles include top producers like Microfiber (520,000 tonnes/year) and KingSafe (480,000 tonnes/year) with strategic insights on capacity, product mix, and market share. Investment analysis section examines cost structures, feedstock volatility, production efficiency, and growth niches like biodegradable and recycled-content lines. New product development explores seven innovations including biodegradable spun-bonded fabrics, composite meltblown spunlace wipes, high-strength geotextiles, hydrophilic airlaid fabrics, antibacterial SMS, and recycled PET filters, naming production scale and performance metrics. The report also details five major capacity additions by decorators of nonwovens in 2023–2024. Overall, this report equips manufacturers, supply chain partners, investors, sustainability advocates, and end-user buyers with actionable data to navigate emerging trends, technology advancements, regulatory shifts, and growth opportunities in the $62.8 billion nonwoven fabric market.

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